Rethinking Professionalism Assessments in Medical Education
Authors: Rachel Mintz, Leah Pierson, David Gibbes Miller
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2022)

Ideas and OpinionsJuly 2022Rethinking Professionalism Assessments in Medical EducationRachel Mintz, BS*, Leah Pierson, BA*, and David Gibbes Miller, MScRachel Mintz, BS*Washington University School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program, Saint Louis, Missouri (R.M.)Search for more papers by this author, Leah Pierson, BA*The Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program and Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (L.P.)Search for more papers by this author, and David Gibbes Miller, MScPerelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (D.G.M.).Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M22-0488 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail RecommendationsOur goal is not to provide a precise, all-encompassing definition of professionalism. The fact that decades of such efforts have not led to consensus suggests a new approach is needed. Instead, we recommend making professionalism evaluations fairer and more transparent by adopting context-specific definitions, invoking professionalism only when necessary, and clarifying assessment and disciplinary processes.First, medical schools should replace general professionalism statements with context-specific ones. For instance, professionalism standards for internal medicine subinterns might describe when students can answer their phones on rounds. Schools can further standardize assessments by describing expectations to students and preceptors at the outset ...References1. Arnold L. Assessing professional behavior: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Acad Med. 2002;77:502-15. [PMID: 12063194] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. ABIM Foundation; ACP–ASIM Foundation; European Federation of Internal Medicine. Medical professionalism in the new millennium: a physician charter. 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Assessment of perceptions of professionalism among faculty, trainees, staff, and students in a large university-based health system. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3:e2021452. [PMID: 33226428] doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.21452 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Rosenberg AR, Jagsi R, Marron JM. Picture a professional: rethinking expectations of medical professionalism through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion. J Clin Oncol. 2021;39:4004-4008. [PMID: 34672688] doi:10.1200/JCO.21.01500 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Osseo-Asare A, Balasuriya L, Huot SJ, et al. Minority resident physicians' views on the role of race/ethnicity in their training experiences in the workplace. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1:e182723. [PMID: 30646179] doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.2723 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Goldberg E. Women doctors ask: who gets to decide what's ‘professional’? The New York Times. 2 August 2020. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Rachel Mintz, BS; Leah Pierson, BA; David Gibbes Miller, MScAffiliations: Washington University School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program, Saint Louis, Missouri (R.M.)The Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program and Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (L.P.)Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (D.G.M.).Disclosures: Authors have reported no disclosures of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M22-0488.Corresponding Author: Rachel Mintz, BS, Washington University School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110; e-mail, rachel.[email protected]edu.Author Contributions: Conception and design: D.G. Miller, R. Mintz, L. PiersonDrafting of the article: D.G. Miller, R. Mintz, L. PiersonCritical revision for important intellectual content: D.G. Miller, R. Mintz, L. PiersonFinal approval of the article: D.G. Miller, R. Mintz, L. PiersonAdministrative, technical, or logistic support: R. Mintz, L. PiersonThis article was published at Annals.org on 31 May 2022.* Ms. Mintz and Ms. Pierson contributed equally to this work. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAnnals On Call - Professionalism Robert M. Centor , Rachel Mintz , and Leah Pierson Annals On Call - Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate Variability Robert M. Centor and Tariq Shafi Metrics Cited byProfessionalism and professional identity formation in dental students: Revisiting the professional role orientation inventory (PROI) July 2022Volume 175, Issue 7Page: 1030-1031KeywordsAcademic medicineMedical educationResidency ePublished: 31 May 2022 Issue Published: July 2022 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2022 by American College of Physicians. 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